FAQ
WAIT! Don't start here! Check out The Newbie's Guide to ZSF if you're trying to learn about the game. =Building Your Character= Character Creation Hey, can I make Concept/New Item? Probably, but don't count on it happening right away. This is very much a case-by-case thing, so make sure that you actually talk with a GM about it. This involves explaining your concept to the GM (rather than simply showing them your character's sheet) and getting the idea approved (or statted, if need be). Make sure to be diligent in the matter, as it is not the staff's job to know everything about your new idea without being informed. What does it take to get my sheet approved? First and foremost, your character sheet needs to check out in full. If you are providing a new concept in your character, it has to be pre-approved. Your character must be fully statted in terms of skills and equipment, and a minimal character description and history at least a paragraph or two long are required. From there it's a matter of getting a GM to review and provide a timestamped signature of approval. When is my character going to be introed? Maintain the current position of your metaphorical trousers around your hips, and don't dive into it. GMs are generally okay with a character just arriving at the base, which is one way to do it. However, if you want your character to be found, you need to talk with a GM about involving your character on a mission. If you're on when the GM is ready to run, pay attention and be ready for your intro. Either way, making sure that you have GM approval for your character and their intro should be your very first priority. If your character is not approved by a GM then they are not allowed to play. Period. I made Item/Skill and a GM flagged/removed it from my sheet! What gives? One of three things probably happened; you either tried to stat it yourself, asked a GM if it was possible and they said 'maybe', or simply left it blank without explanation. All cases resulted in you not talking to the GM properly like you were supposed to, hence the reaction. See the first question above. Custom materials left unstatted/unapproved during the creation process may simply be flagged/removed at best, or prevent your character from being approved at worst. If you don't attempt to communicate with the staff to get the work done, then we can't help you. =Character Management= Skills, Perks and Equipment Hey! Person stole my Item, Equipment idea! Can I make them change it? Unfortunately there's no real nice way to say this, so we will be direct: The way this game works, nothing is sacred, from the equipment you can find to the characters builds, and sometimes even the character concepts themselves aren't all that special. Concepts tend to overlap a lot, so you may or may not see a combination of people with multiple perks/equips with similar or the same abilities, sometimes even with the same style as development goes here. If a player finds something pre-made that fits their style, they may end up borrowing ideas. While some people believe in novelty or uniqueness, these things are only a part of the character as a whole. Or, as they say: It's not the size that counts, it's how one uses it. In this case replace 'size' with whathaveyou. That said? There's a difference between borrowing ideas to fit a concept and blatantly ripping people off. Descriptions, names, character elements in history or design, if you think there's a distinction then talk to the staff. =Playing the Game= General Play What is synergy? Synergy is what ZSF runs on, along with blood, motor oil, and the tears of orphans. Looking at the various skills, you may notice that many of them overlap. Consider a character with +12 Melee, +8 Blades, and -7 Swords. Does his highest skill alone determine his skill? No, and far from it. When two or more skills apply to the same check, the highest bonus is applied in full while the lower bonuses each get added in at half strength. Our metaphorical slicer would therefore have a bonus of +16 when using a knife, before other factors. After this, subtract any penalties that apply. In full. So when using a sword, our Mr. Slice would only have a +9 bonus, but would still have a +16 bonus when using any other bladed melee weapon. Items bonuses(Armor/Elemental Boosts/etc) are not subject to normal synergy rules without special effects or perks- the highest item bonus applies in full. Unless they boost a particular skill as a secondary effect, then let additional items synergize the same as skills do. Does my character's Fatigue penalty/Mana penalty/Body wound effect their skill-based check? If it isn't resisted, yes. Mana and Fatigue penalties are derived from the Mana and Stamina skills (consider these skills a gauge against said penalties that can go into the negative). Your character may resist Fatigue and Mana penalties up to their Stamina and Mana skills, respectively--negative points in these result in doubling penalties up to how low the respective skill is. For example, a character with 20 Stamina and 0 Mana can resist up to 20 points of fatigue/stamina costs before negative penalties are incurred, but any mana costs cause penalties right away. After those are taken into account, all penalties may be resisted by the Endurance skill, with the same rules for doubling penalties if the skill is negative. Other information can be found on the Wounds ''page. How quickly does my character's Fatigue recover? That depends on your character's Stamina. Specifics may be found on the ''Recovery page. Do I need a GM around when I make rolls? If you know what you're doing, no, not really. With the number of people playing ZSF, the GMs cannot pay attention to the daily dealings of every character. We're operating on a faith system--abuse that, and we will not be happy, though. If you don't understand how a particular system works, though? Yeah, get a GM to help you out with that. Ignorant independence is far worse than informed dependence.